Moogy

Hey everyone - as some of you may know, I got my 2004 LS430 last week, and have had one problem - the front passenger sensor shows as 'object in front' when park assist is on (the thread is here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho....php?t=262855).

The problem is that Lexus says they won't replace the sensor through the warranty because the front bumper had been 'repainted', which is true - the guy I purchased it from wanted to touch up all of the nicks and scratches before he sent it off.

Lexus says "we can't tell if it's been in an accident" and is just sidestepping warranty, because of the 'paint'.

This seems pretty ridiculous - repainting a bumper to touch up scratches and dings should not void any warranty. They said the paint was probably responsible for messing up the sensor, but I'm not sure I buy that - it's almost as if they don't know and/or don't care.

What are my options? He quoted me $255 for the replacement sensor and $150 for labor, so $400 to fix the thing...

widlfiresd

Who's right? Who knows?

Pay the money and move on , life is short.

Moogy

Actually this is important to me. I don't just throw money away on things that should be covered by warranty. It seems ridiculous to me that I have to shell out $400 on something that's covered by warranty because they don't like the fact that the bumper was "repainted" to touch up nicks, etc. I wanted to find out if other people have had experiences similiar to this, and what is really "legit" for the warranty... It's not like I have extensive car mods or anything...

widlfiresd

The reality is the bumper was damaged and likely caused the issue with the sensor.

If I were in an accident and bashed in my fender, logic would say if I had a front brake issue or a headlight out, that the impact was related to the issue.

Whether the impact caused my other issue is anyone's guess.

I see your point, but I see the dealer's as well.

gwong

If you can, I'd recommend you try another dealer and see what they say.

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

I agree.

But before you do that, go straight to the service manager, and tell him how long you've been a Lexus customer, and that you recently acquired this car, and hope to establish a good relationship with them. Make it look like you initially there to get to know him, since your going to be dealing with them more often now.

Then proceed with your point in a calm manner, and how the bumper was painted to take care of some rock chips, and no other sensors were affected. HE should have no problem taking care of you. Just highlight the fact that its sad that you were treated this way on your first visit to the dealer, and never in your wild dreams expected to be treated this way in a LEXUS dealership (good for ego factor).

He should take care of you then. If not, i guess find a sensor online, and purchase it... buying a whole bumper from ebay with 4 sensors might be even cheaper.

I had some issues with one of the service advisors at the local dealer, and the way he treated me, (I look younger then I am). I spoke to the manager, and told him that i shouldn't be treated this way period. Even more since I'm paying in excess of $700 for one of my services (at that given time)... and that I dont look forward in bringing in my other Lexus cars (We have 4) if thats how its going to be.

I know I could have walked out, or yelled at someone, or called lexus customer service (who are worthless anyhow) but I somewhat need them since some of my cars are still under warranty. Just gotta be delplomatic... now i get first class treatment when I go there.

jjbodean

i would try to get the previous owner to pay for it, it was probably sold to you having this issue.

mobilyte

iTrader: (3)

after reading this thread and your other thread, i agree with the dealership.

the previous owner skimped on a paint job to help his resale value, the paint shop didnt even bother to mask the sensor, you took a exacto knife to the sensor to remove the paint off the sensor, and you expect this to be covered under warranty??

juniorEXE

and if the above doesnt work there is always the off button for the sensors

LEX012006

Ask the previous owner if the body shop remove the bumper to paint it, if so it may be workmanship fault. I have had my front bumper repaired (due to vandalism) and when I got my car back at times the front sensors were doing the same thing (l/f, r/f, and middle. And at different times) but problem so far have not resurfaced. I let the body shop know what was happening. They told me sometimes when the sensors are plugged back in on reinstallation, they sometimes work loose or a little dirt/dust gets in the connector. You might just have a loose connection behind the bumper. Minor repair. Check with the body shop before doing anything further!!!!

e-man

I think the dealer is technically "right" in denying the warranty work, but I'm sure there are ways to work around this.

Let me ask you this. You just bought the car. Is this your first Lexus? Have you established a relationship with this dealer or is this your first service visit? Do you have any major maintenance coming up? Why not wait until the next major maintenance for your car (let's say > $500), and on the day you bring it in, mention to them that you're having this issue with the bumper sensor and you think it needs to be replaced. Before you give them your car for the maintenance, get them to commit that they'll replace it under warranty. Most service writers will go out of their way to help out a customer, especially if it's someone who is shelling out money for maintenance.

Then, once that's taken care of, you should periodically do things for these guys. For example, I've made friends at my dealership with a service writer and the head mechanic. Over Christmas each year, I bring each of them a case of beer and a tin of popcorn. They were so appreciative of it. Most of their customers ***** and complain to them all day, so when someone does something nice, it definitely does not go unnoticed. Whenever I come in for service, charges are always written off my bill. As an example, for my 60k service, the dealership charges an advertised $700. I paid $400. Is it because of the little things I do? Who knows, maybe they give that deal to everyone, but I do know that it definitely doesn't hurt.

Moogy

Great feedback - thanks to everyone!

I examined the front bumper in more detail relating to the side the sensor is on, and was surprised to find the 'lock' was cracked. Here's a picture:



This tells me there was some sort of minor impact.

Note that this car has a completely clean Carfax, and the car is driving wonderfully and is clean as a whistle.

Another odd thing is the front passenger side panel doesn't have a VIN on it. The dealership noticed this. I looked at it in detail and IF it was replaced the paint job is perfect, and if something like that was worked on, they would have fixed the bumper and all other issues... Here's pictures of the two sides. It looks like the passenger panel is off just a few millimeters... mean anything?



And here's the driver's side (for comparison):



I guess at this point it's up to me to talk with the guy I purchased the car from, who so far has been pretty cool. He did say he "touched up" the bumpers, but I didn't expect the complete repaint, and especially the poor job that was done, but it probably does look better than it did if it was nicked and scratched up...

Moogy

BTW I went to start the car today and the battery was dead! ... and the Park Assist was on... That's the only difference between now and since I had the car (I always had it off). So it looks like the Park Assist problem is a short in the sensors (I don't think a disconnected sensor would cause that problem). I'll call Lexus on Monday and find out what's up.

jjbodean

if the fender is missing the vin sticker the fender was replaced. no doubt. body shops know the importance of the vin sticker and wouldnt have removed it unless they removed it while attatched to the fender.

sounds like the previous owner who has been "pretty cool" has some explaining to do to you.

Moogy

Odd part is the paint job is PERFECT (for the fender - if it indeed was repainted/replaced) - you cannot tell it was replaced visually; the only way is to look at the missing VIN sticker or the 1-2mm offset in the docking. Even the guys at the dealership said it looked perfect and they were very surprised IF it was replaced/repainted. I'm confident that the guy I purchased it from has nothing to do with it given if it had been fixed (with such high quality), the bumper would have been fixed as well. The car does have 46,000 miles on it and the guy I purchased it from wasn't the previous owner.

I'm guessing the previous owner was wealthy, had a minor fender / bump, shelled out cash to fix it and moved on. They looked and none of the crumple zones anywhere are messed up.

Plus, the Carfax is clean, so nothing was reported. The car is beautiful, and drives perfect (save the sensor problems) so I'm not sure it's that big of a deal. Just something that can be noticed - plus it has nothing to do with the warranty/sensor problem.

I talked with Darren today (owner of Bayshore Automotive in FL) and he said he'll work with me for any costs that come up related to what he did (sensor, paint, etc.) so he's not blowing me off. My guess is that they'll find that it's shorted, and it'll probably be some generic thing, OR a previous "fender bang" at that point, Darren will probably compensate me for some amount (if not all).

Considering I paid $35K for this car and the inside is PERFECT (and it drives perfectly), if a messed up bumper and perfectly repainted front "fender" to fix a minor 'dink' is all that's wrong, it's no biggie.

Funny part with the broken bumper clip is that the one below it is fine, which doesn't make much sense... If it was an impact, it would have broken both of the,

I LOVE this car - more than my Z06 or NSXs. I can't wait to get a LS460 towards the end of this year